First Lady Esther Lungu and the first family have wished comfort and conveyed heartfelt condolences to the family of Luanshya prominent farmer John Enright during his funeral church service held in Luanshya yesterday.
Hundreds of Luanshya residents this morning gathered at Kafwankumba United Methodist church to pay their last respects to John Enright, 67, who died on 26th December 2017 in a road traffic accident in Luanshya.
The late Mr. Enright died near Fisenge blind center when a truck failed to keep to its near lane and hit into his moving motor vehicle.
Speaking on behalf of the First Lady, Luanshya Mayor Nathan Chanda said the First Lady, who could not make it to the funeral services, wished the grieving family comfort and God’s strength during the mourning period.
And Livestock Minister Michael Katambo, who was represented by Luanshya District Commissioner Joel Chibuye, described the death of the Luanshya prominent farmer as a loss to the economic growth of the district and the nation at large.
Mr. Katambo said government will always remember Mr. Enright for his dedication towards transforming Luanshya district from a mine dependency town to that of agriculture among other diversification projects he undertook.
He noted that the late Mr. Enright had a lot of business concepts that prompted President Edgar Lungu and the First Lady to visit him and see how best they could foster development.
He pledged government support to the bereaved family and urged them to keep the late Mr. Enright’s vision alive by continuing with the various development projects that were intended to create jobs and uplift the living standards of the people of Luanshya.
And Mr. Chibuye has appealed to the bereaved family and employees of the various economic activities that were run by the late Mr. Enright to guard jealously that which he established and ensure growth and sustainability.
He further appealed to the family and friends of the deceased to stand by the bereaved family and offer them love, comfort and strength to help them recover from the loss of their beloved one as well as the quick recovery of his widow Kendra who was still nursing injuries from the accident.
Parliamentary deputy chief whip Steve Chungu and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Consul General Chantal Konji Maloba were among other dignitaries in in attendance.
Speaking in an interview, DRC Consul General Chantal Konji Maloba described the death of Mr. Enright as a shock and a loss that cannot be recovered as he was dedicated to fostering economic development through agriculture.
Mrs. Maloba said she worked with the late farmer in the setting up of farming blocks along the Zambia/DRC border which are aimed at revamping that country’s agriculture sector.
Enright, 67, was Belgian by birth but lived in DRC since 1956 as a farmer and a missionary.
He came to Zambia in 1999 and settled in Luanshya district where he established various agricultural enterprises among them bee keeping, goat rearing, aquaculture at his kafwankumba and Riverndale farms among other projects.
He died on 26th December 2017 in a road traffic accident and is survived by a wife Kendra Enright, two sons and three grandchildren.
The burial of the remains of the late prominent Luanshya farmer John Enright will take place in April this year at his Kafwankumba farm.
Today, there was a church service and cremation at Kafwankumba training centre United Methodist church which was attended by hundreds of Luanshya residents.
The word donated attributed to Esther is actually misleading and misused . She never used her money to buy the gifts but merely presented them on behalf of tax payers .
Na bekata ama line yampiya
May his soul rest in eternal peace. I had an opportunity of meeting him .